Music of the Gods
by UndeniablyMe
Summary: A series of one-shots, inspired by music, about Percy, Annabeth, Grover, and the whole gang. The war, love, life, laughs, and everything in between.
1. Valentine's Day

**Music of the Gods**

A by UndeniablyMe

**Full Summery: **Short, one-shot like things inspired by some of my favorite songs. Involves the characters Annabeth, Percy, Grover, Juniper, and more to come.

**A/n: **Hey there all! This is all more of an… experiment than anything, to see if I'm any good at writing PJO fics. I thought that it'd be fun to see if anyone actually would like the ones I write. So, I guess that it'd be up to you if you do like them. Enjoy, and tell me if it's any good. :D

-UndeniablyMe ;)

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_**Valentine's Day- Linkin Park**_

February 14th was a day that Annabeth absolutely _despised _with a burning _passion _enviable of that of the forges of Hephaestus. There was a good reason for all of it too. February meant that it was cold, even if she was in San Francisco, and February meant that it was still five months until she could go back to Camp Half-Blood; five months until she'd get to walk down by not just _any _beach but _their _beach, and five months until she'd get to see… She didn't finish the thought.

Annabeth sat, staring out her window to the suburbs that surrounded her. It was hard to sit there sometimes and stare out her window and tell herself that, no, she didn't imagine everything that had ever happened in her life. In Suburbia, it was extremely hard to believe that Camp Half-Blood wasn't just some dream/nightmare that she had dreamed up, but there were always reminders tying her back to a past that, sometimes, she would like to forget. For instance, the celestial bronze knife she was twisting over and over in her hands, examining the brilliant metal it was crafted of and the Yankees cap that was stuffed in her back jeans pocket. And the picture...

Her eyes averted back to her bedroom mirror and she sighed, a smile coming to her face despite everything. It was a picture of her, Percy and Grover taken at the end of the last summer, the day before all of them had gone their separate ways. Grover had a tin can in his mouth and looked a little, for lack of a better word, sheepish at being caught sneaking _another _can. You could see Juniper's hand in his, though she had managed to shy away from the camera at the last second, and Grover looked happier than he had in a long, long time. But the real point of the picture that made her smile was what her and Percy were doing.

Percy was giving a half, slightly lopsided, grin, and his arm was cautiously around her shoulder while she shot him a sideways look, eyebrows raised, but with a smile on her face too. At that point, they had been avoiding each other because things had become so complicated between them. Moments when her and Percy were together, at the end, were rare. It hurt, she remembered, to be with him because all she could think of was the choice she'd soon have to make. It hurt to be away though, at the same time, because all she did was wish she was with him. Like she was now...

Today was a horrible day to be thinking of it all though. It was _Valentine's _Day, and she'd hardly slept a wink the night before. Usually her dreams were tormented with the indecision that she usually nursed between the choice she'd have to make, but last night's had been, if possible, slightly more horrifying.

The first half was the life that she had imagined with Luke; the one that the Sirens had showed her in the Sea of Monsters. The beautiful buildings, her mother and father, and most of all... _Luke_. Luke, loving her and holding her hand, Luke, being as wonderful as she knew he could be, _Luke, _as he should be. Luke... Luke... Luke... She wished that things were like that now, and something told her that if she chose, when the time came, to save Luke things could be like she imagined. She and Luke could be a possibility... She could change him...

But then, that left life without Percy. And life without Percy was an extremely painful thing to imagine.

The second half of the dream had showed what life could be like with Percy. Things were fuzzy, hard to make out, and hard to understand, but she knew that it had to do somewhat with what Percy would chose too. Percy was his own person, and he'd never wait to be acted upon. That much she knew. And that was something she loved most about him. He was like the sea, changeable, unpredictable, strangely beautiful, dangerous, and yet... comforting.

And then the dream had taken a dark turn. She had seen Percy... and he was gone... And she was alone.

_I used to be my _own _protection, _Annabeth thought to herself, clenching her fists and creating a small cut in her palm. She looked down at her blood and anger pulsed in her mind. _What's happened to me? A daughter of Athena shouldn't have to bend to the will of something as trivial as _love.

She knew why this dream had come to her, and she knew it had nothing to do with Janus or Hera torturing her. It was all _Aphrodite_'s doing. And right then, that goddess seemed even more dangerous than Hades.

"Valentine's Day sucks," she said out loud, moving away from the window. "And I don't care if you _did _hear me."

It started raining outside, and she figured that she _had _heard her.

_Five months, _she repeated to herself. _Five months…_

**A/n: **Well... That's all here! You know what to do now... Or, at least, what you should do. :D See you all around!

-UndeniablyMe ;)

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	2. Diary of Jane

**Music of the Gods**

A Series of Short Stories by UndeniablyMe

**A/n: **Thanks for the reviews guys! They were fantabulous. I'm glad that some people actually liked my stuff. And now, here's the next little one shot/short story. Enjoy, and I'll see you all at the bottom. (Hopefully :D)

-UndeniablyMe ;)

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_**Diary of Jane- Breaking Benjamin**_

Percy stared at his ceiling and tried not to dwell too much on the mounting danger that was ever becoming his life. He had to leave soon, he knew it. Just by staying around he was putting his mother and Paul in more and more danger, and he couldn't do that to his mother anymore. She had spent years with Smelly Gabe for his sake; just to keep him safe, and how did he repay her? By putting her in even more danger.

It'd be hard to leave though. His mom was creating somewhat of a paradise in the new apartment that she and Paul had moved into over the school year. It was closer to the High School and Percy didn't even have to ride the subway to get to school anymore. He drove with Paul every morning. That'd have to end soon too.

Something was coming, something big… And he had to be ready for it.

The conversation with Nico swirled in his mind, confusing him and making him nauseous. He didn't dwell on it because it made him feel like the Titan lord was closer and was ever watchful. Which, he was, but he didn't like thinking it anyways.

Instead Percy directed his thoughts, as distracted as they were, to other things, like the semi-peaceful summer he had spent with Grover and Tyson after their adventure in the Labyrinth. He noticed, with a sad recollection, that Annabeth wasn't in his memories as much as he would've liked to have her. But she was so strange, so hard to understand, so… girlish.

How many times had they fought? How many times had he tried to apologize for something that he wasn't sure about just to have her stomp away, insisting that it wasn't good enough? How many more times would he have to do that?

Percy had tried. He had tried so many times to find his place, where he fit exactly, with Annabeth and all he had come to was some kind of shaky space between friendship and a hard spot. Oh, how he had tried to understand her, but it just wasn't possible. The girl was, after all, a daughter of Athena, and not to be understood in the first place, but it wasn't just that either. It wasn't just that her mother was Athena and his father was Poseidon. It was something else getting in the way. There was something getting in the way, and he couldn't get past it. And he knew exactly what it was. Luke.

Just the name made his stomach curl. That backstabber, who had masqueraded as his friend and tried to kill him—no, not just kill him, maim him, and all of the people he cared about in one go, and Annabeth still could feel something for him. The thought made him sore and sick and he clenched his hand around the pen that was always in his pocket out of reflex.

_Riptide… _The feel of the pen made his blood cool slightly.

Its history was a sad tragic one Chiron had said when first giving it. He thought about that as he got up and paced around his room. For a sword, it had served him quite faithfully. It always returned to him and it never turned it's back on him. It was just as good as any friend he'd ever had, minus Luke, and it was made by a friend who had passed... A talisman, of sorts, to remember her by...

When thinking about Riptide though, he couldn't help thinking about the girl who had given up everything to help a hero, and who just ended up getting messed up in the end. It wasn't fair what had happened to Zoë, and her hero gave all of the heroes a bad name. And yet, he was worshipped for it, because no one knew the truth. Did he really want to end up like Hercules?

Percy didn't dwell there. He didn't want to be like Hercules or Theseus or Perseus or whatever other hero there was. He wanted to be _Percy_. And _Percy_ couldn't help but wonder if, in the end Annabeth went to help Luke, her story would end up a lot like Zoë's.

He closed his eyes, haunted by the image of Annabeth at Luke's mercy like he had seen in the dream two summers ago. Annabeth, so strong, proud and funny, should not have to bend to the forced will of another. Just the thought of it was so wrong. Just as wrong as the thought of a world _without_ Annabeth. Everyone had thought her dead once, and just the thought that it was quite possible that she may be dead, had cut him so deep that not even the sea could heal him again. Annabeth in pain was _not _something that Percy liked living with.

But Annabeth was tough, demanding, free spirited, and smart. She didn't give in ever, she never took the easy way out of things. It was something he liked best about her. It was something that was so _thoroughly _Annabeth that he couldn't help but give a small smile as he thought about it. He wouldn't have her any other way.

"Okay Annabeth," he said, staring at the picture of her, Grover and him taken at the end of the summer. Her eyebrow was up, as if challenging him to impress her. "I give up trying to figure you out. But you'll do the right thing." _I hope…_

He wasn't sure what the choice was exactly, but he really hoped what ever she chose, he didn't end up dead. The Underworld was scary enough with Annabeth and Grover at his side, it'd be hard to go back there without them both.

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**A/n: **And on that happy note, this would be the end. :D I don't know what I think about this chapter, to be quite honest. It's shorter than my usual things and a little… weird... I also think it's slightly out of character for Percy to be sitting still for so long but oh well. Drop me a note, tell me what you think! :D

-UndeniablyMe ;)


	3. My Immortal

**Music of the Gods**

Stories by UndeniablyMe

**A/n: **What is this, like, three stories I've updated in a row? Man, I'm like a genius. Anywho, this character is centered on Annabeth again. Don't worry, we have more of the other characters coming up, but I think Annabeth has to have a little say too. This part comes in between the time that Percy is on Calypso's island and when Annabeth is at camp, thinking he's dead.

Enjoy! :D

-UndeniablyMe ;)

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_**My Immortal- Evanescence, **_

When Annabeth returned to camp, she slept for three days, and when she opened her eyes, she half expected Seaweed Brain to be leaning over her bed, grinning at the fact that they had lived through another adventure. But he wasn't there. He wasn't there.

"Chiron," she said, fearfully coming out onto the porch. "Chiron, where's Percy?"

Chiron turned and looked at her, his bright ancient eyes full of a sadness that she recognized too well. Those were the eyes that had stared at Thalia's tree, mourning the loss of a champion, a hero.

"He isn't back yet?" Annabeth felt as if the breath had been knocked out of her. "You're kidding, right?"

The centaur didn't say anything but simply put his hand on her shoulder. She let it rest there for a moment before shaking it off.

"He's not dead," she told him plainly, angry that the upbeat and always positive centaur was making no effort to be annoyingly upbeat.

"Annabeth—"

"He's not!" she shouted, ripping her arm away from him. "He's not dead!"

She turned and ran, not knowing where she was going, until she ended up outside of the Poseidon cabin. Normally it was against the rules to enter a cabin without the permission of one of the campers staying there, but she didn't care for rules right then. She opened the door and shut it quickly behind her, looking around for the bed that Percy's stuff was still under, and threw herself on it.

In cabin three, she could cry to her heart's desire. The cabin's patron would shield her from her mother's foresight, and right now that's all she wanted.

Yes, she was being childish. You weren't supposed to make friends with those that you knew wouldn't be around for long, and sometimes not even with those who would be around, because they all betrayed you in the end. If not by stabbing you in the back, then by dying.

But Percy wasn't supposed to die. Percy wasn't just a hero who had a lucky break every now and then that saved him from death. He was... He was _Percy_. And Percy wasn't supposed to die! Annabeth had grown so used to him coming out alive that, now that it seemed he might truly be gone for forever, she realized she had thought _him _immortal himself. Not _just _immortal though. _Her _immortal.

The thought was foolish and made Reason stare. Annabeth knew too, because Reason was a good friend of her mother's. But she didn't want to think about her mother. She wanted to think about Percy and drown in his scent, in his cabin, and never surface.

The ocean breeze blew through the cabin and Annabeth fell asleep.

&#&#&#&#&

She didn't go back to the Poseidon cabin after that. She wouldn't even walk past it. Just the look of it made her think of Percy, and those were dangerous thoughts.

But it didn't matter if she was looking at cabin three or thinking of him. Percy was everywhere. And she couldn't take it anymore.

_He's gone, _she thought firmly, eyes tearing as she walked blindly through the camp. A storm was coming, raging it's fury over the ocean as if Poseidon had just realized his son was dead. _Stop it Annabeth. He's gone._

She opened her eyes. She was at the beach, and if it had been any other time, she was sure she'd see Percy sitting, his feet touching the waves, thinking. For a moment, she thought she did see him… But it wasn't him. He was supposed to be dead.

"But he's not," she said out loud, pressing her hands over her ears to drown out the sound of the furiously crashing waves. "You're still here!"

A large wave crashed against the rocks five feet to the side of her and the rain fell with a fury that Annabeth had never seen; as if the ocean was mourning the death of Percy. But couldn't the ocean feel him, the way she could? It felt as if he was against her back, breathing on her neck, and it was making her crazy.

She swatted at the feeling, her tears coming back in a fury.

"J-just _leave_!" she sobbed, picking up a stone at her foot and throwing it, tears pouring down her cheeks. "You're not here anymore! You left me! If you're gone, just _go_! Please…"

She dropped to her knees, sobbing harder and harder. The rain storm was reaching its peak and the ocean crashed against the beach horribly, echoing what she felt inside.

Her tears tasted salty, like the sea spray, and all of it reminded her of what his lips had tasted like when she kissed him. And he was gone.

"Just go," she said, heartbroken, clutching his shirt to her. "If you're going to go, just _go_!"

But the overwhelming feeling of his presence was still there and it wouldn't leave. She could _feel _him, somewhere, and she couldn't live with that. She couldn't live with this, she'd go insane.

The sea continued to thunder and rage around her, and she would've been afraid, but it reminded her of how Percy was when he fought. The intensity of the wind and the crashing of the waves against the shore reminded her of his eyes when they calculated the best way to take an enemy down or how best to beat Grover to the enchilada stand. It was hard to believe he was actually _gone_.

But soon the wind began to calm and the intensity of the sea diminished. Annabeth looked up from where she had been crying, indignant. Was that really all the god of the seas was going to do? Send a storm that wrecked, what? One ship?

Percy deserved much more than that, and she wanted to make sure he knew.

"That's it?!" she yelled, knowing it was dangerous to tick off a god, but she was past caring. Percy had done it all the time. "That's _all _you're going to do_??_"

She stabbed her knife into the sand.

"_Where is he?!?!" _she shouted. "Where is your son?"

The sea calmed and didn't answer and she fell back to her knees.

"Where is he…?" she sobbed, her tears falling onto the sand below her. "Please, tell me. Where is he? Where is he?"

The sea gave no answers and she sobbed into her hands, tears falling faster than the rain. It wasn't that he was gone, it was that he had left her. He had abandoned her, after keeping her safe for so long.

Just. Like. Luke.

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**A/n: **Wow, enough drama there for you? :D It's actually not as angsty as I would have liked it, but hey! I do my best. Leave me a note, tell me what you think! Ciao all! :D

-UM ;)


	4. You and Me

**Music of the Gods**

Short Stories by UndeniablyMe

**A/n: **I know, I know, I haven't updated this story in a long time. Poor little thing, but I hope it-- and all of you-- can find it in you to forgive me. :D And so, not to bore you with pointless authoress notes, we'll move onto to the actual story.

See you at the bottom. :D

-UndeniablyMe

* * *

_**You And Me-- Lifehouse**_

Juniper trembled and felt the tears start to well up in her eyes. Grover looked sad, desperately so, and begged her not to cry, but she couldn't help it. Her heart was breaking and it was so _human _of her that it was making her scared. How could he do this to her? How could he actually be _leaving _her to go off on an adventure that he might _never _come back from?

"Juni, please don't," Grover said, moving in and putting his arms around her. Juniper allowed the contact, grabbing desperately at his shirt and burying her face in it, shaking worse than ever.

She breathed in his scent, committing it to her extremely long memory, vowing to never forget it. Grover smelled so wonderful, like the streams and wild meadows that he and her had so often walked together. She shook even more and a few tears overflowed from her eyes, remembering everything that was so firmly _Grover_. If he never came back, the world would be a darker place without him.

"Ah Juni, don't cry! It'll be okay," Grover said, rubbing her back comfortingly, but Juniper wasn't his girlfriend for nothing. She heard the tremors in his voice and felt the world trembling not just from her shakes. Grover was just as afraid as she was. "I'll be with Percy and Annabeth and T-tyson. They'll keep me safe."

Juniper pulled back to look him straight in the eyes, not missing how he stuttered over the name Tyson. He was afraid of the Cyclops, and she knew that very well. The horrors of his past were still fresh in his memory and the cyclops, even though it was friendly, did nothing to soothe those things.

"And what if they don't?" Juniper tried to challenge, her soft voice stumbling over the harsh words that were almost impossible to summon about Annabeth and Percy. She had met both of them and bonded quite quickly with Annabeth. She knew that they'd both readily give their lives for Grover and that, if worse came to worse, they could keep him safe.

It just was though, that Juniper would rather that it _didn't _come to the worst possible. The thought of Grover out there, _her _Grover, made her frightened.

"You know they will," Grover said, attempting to be brave. "We'll come back safe Juni. I promise."

"Don't make promises you can't keep," Juniper snapped, pulling back from him, feeling hurt. "Don't promise me you'll come back when you don't _know _if you will. You don't know Grover, you don't! And it's killing me!!"

The wood nymph pulled even farther away from Grover, hiding in the shadows of her tree, shaking worse than ever. Grover sighed, looking for a moment, so vulnerable that Juniper regretted ever having said anything to hurt him. She was back at his side in a flash, putting her thin willowy frame up against his and holding him tightly.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" she said, more green tears splashing from her eyes. "I just... I'm afraid Grover! If you don't come back I'm not sure what I'll do! It's just so far down there... And there aren't any trees..."

She sniffed and Grover sighed, putting his arms once more around her.

"I know Juni, I know," he said softly, resting his head against her untameable mane of green hair. "It's the same way I'd feel about losing you... But you got to understand. It's my _dream _to find Pan! And here's my chance. It's calling me, June. _He's _calling me, and I've heard him. I can't give up on him. I just _can't_. You got to let me go..."

Juniper suppressed more tears and held him even more fiercely.

"If I didn't want you to go you wouldn't," she said, walking backwards and pulling him back with her towards her tree. The branches extended towards them, threatening to trap Grover beneath them. "I'd keep you here."

Grover gave a small, very sad smile.

"Yeah, I know," he said, giving a little bleat of humorless laugh. "But you won't. I know you. You'll let me go."

Juniper stared at him with her mossy green eyes, as if daring him to challenge her and try to run, before crumpling and leaning against him again.

"I don't _want _you to go."

Grover nodded and sighed again.

"I don't really want to go either," he said, trying to be as honest as he could, but still holding back slightly. He didn't want her to think he was _really _afraid. "But I have to. I know I do."

Juniper eyed him, looking slightly angry that he'd be so hasty to leave her, before nodding.

"Come back to me, if you can," she said, more tears welling up in her eyes so that it almost blurred her vision. "And if you don't, I'll... I'll..."

The truth was she didn't know what she'd do. And she didn't want to think about it either.

"One day at a time, Juni," he said, leaning down and giving her a shy kiss on the cheek. Juniper blushed a bright green; Grover had never so much as held her hand before. "I'll be back. Percy and Annabeth will make sure of that."

She nodded, for once feeling jealous over the blonde haired beauty that was Athena's child. It wasn't fair she got to go somewhere that she couldn't.

"Ah, June," Grover said, reading her mood easily. "Don't worry about me and Annabeth. Percy's all over it..." _Or, actually, not._

Juniper allowed her fears to be alleviated by Grover, letting the jealousy fade away into nothing. Nymph emotions weren't as deep and complex as human emotions were and only one could dominate at a time. And, with Grover's gentle remark, it was dusted away into an oblivion.

"Don't forget about me," Juniper said, feeling the tears drip down her face. "You know... if you meet other nymphs or... stuff... down there..."

Grover grinned and gave another bleat of laughter.

"Don't worry, there's _no _chance of that. There's no one quite like you, Nymph."

Juniper nodded, gave him one final hug, and then watched him walk from her little meadow, feeling more tears stray into her eyes.

"There's no one like you either!" she called to him, just before he walked out of her sight. Grover turned around, gave another grin that made her heart flutter, before walking away.

And Juniper, who's heart really did seem broken, fled back to her tree, and wept.

_He'll be back, _she told herself, shivering inside her safe haven and holding herself as tightly as she could. _He promised. It's going to happen, I know it._

But, holding herself, didn't feel at all like being in _his _arms and the thought of never getting to be held by him ever again was something very dark indeed...

_He'll be back, _she thought to herself. _He promised._

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**A/n: **Surprise! It's a Juniper/Grover chapter. I know I've been focusing a lot on Annabeth/Percy ones, so I thought, heck, it's time from Grover and Juniper to get the spotlight. I hope you like this one, it was a favorite

Well, that's all from me. Thanks to everyone who reviewed before! You all made my day and I hope this update was worth waiting for! :D

-UndeniablyMe ;)

P.S. Don't forget to review!!


	5. Under the Surface

**Music of the Gods**

A Short Story by UndeniablyMe

**A/n: **I'm BACK!!!! And it's been _forever _hasn't it? I barely read the _Last Olympian _a few days ago and can we just say it's ah-mazing!! I loved it, all right down to the... well... okay, I won't say anymore just in case someone reading this hasn't read it, but if you haven't I should warn you there are spoilers... :) I'm just in love with the series all over again!!!

Okay, and now to business. This scene comes when Percy is bathing in the River Styx and Annabeth is with the other campers on their way to the Empire State Building. You got to hear how Percy reacted to it, but did anything happen to Annabeth...? By invoking her image in his mind, did something happen to Annabeth? Well, we gonna find out. :D

See you at the bottom!

-UndeniablyMe ;)

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_**Under the Surface—Marit Larsen**_

Annabeth swung her knife angrily, impaling the back of a seat in one of the Camp Half-Blood vans. _Stupid Seaweed Brain. _He'd taken off again, no note, no one knowing where he went and not so much as a goodbye—just some stupid little phone message telling them to get their butts the Empire State Building. If she ever got her hands on that stupid inflated head of his she was going to _strangle _him.

How dare he leave her without saying where he was going! Didn't he know what it did to her whenever she let the idiot of a hero out of her sight? Didn't he know that she went into panic mode, wondering if he'd been accidentally picked up by some monster or lay dying in the forest somewhere or, worse, was somewhere talking to that Rachel Dare girl?

She stabbed again, forcing the blade in all the way up to the hilt into back of the seat. No one told her off for doing it, in fact, they all looked terrified of her anger. If it had been a monster, it would have disintegrated and if it had been a demigod it would be dead. Yet, staring at it, she felt as if it was her heart she had just stabbed.

_Idiot. Where did he go? _She yanked her knife out of the seat.

That's when the blinding pain ripped through her body, worse then even the strain from holding up the sky had caused. The pain was so intense it knocked her from consciousness immediately. She slumped forward in her seat. What was going on…?

An image formed before her and suddenly she was kneeling on the shore of the River Styx. She gasped, the pain leaving her, and leaned forward. The river was murky, full of broken dreams and forlorn wishes, but she could still make out the figure of someone in the river, thrashing as if they were going to drown. And she knew. It was Percy, and he was trying to take upon him the curse of Achilles.

"No, no, are you _nuts _Seaweed Brain?" she hissed, standing up as if to dive in after him.

"Dive not," a voice cautioned behind her, nearly causing her to lose her balance and plunge head first into the water. "For while your hero dwells in the cursed water of the river you may not enter lest both of you be lost forever."

She turned to the speaker. He was burly with large ripped arms, dressed in ancient Greek armor and looked frightening. She didn't need to see the arrow in his heel to know who this was.

"Achilles."

He nodded.

"You shouldn't have let him step in the river," Annabeth said accusingly, clutching her dagger tighter in her hand. "You shouldn't have let him take on _your _curse."

"I did warn him," the fallen warrior said, his green eyes murky like the river. "But he would not listen. And even now, as he resides under the surface, the river burns him and erases him. In a few moments there will be nothing left of the hero Perseus Jackson." His eyes were anciently sad as he stared at her. "I did warn him."

"_No_," Annabeth hissed, turning back to the river. "He _will _survive. You don't know Percy like I do. He'll come out alive."

Achilles inclined his head towards a thin gold string that reached out from the shore into the depths of the river where Percy struggled. His anchor to the mortal world was taut with tension, but even Annabeth could see that it was thinning. So much of it was already disintegrating in the water, leaving him hanging only by threads.

"As we speak, his time grows short. The boy will die, drowned in the water of the River Styx. So peculiar, for a son of the Sea God, to die from drowning."

Achilles turned his luminescent eyes away from the river that he had been watching hauntingly to Annabeth.

"You know what you must do, if your _immortal_ is to survive." His lips barely pulled at a smile, but there was no mistaking the meaning in his words. And, you knew things were bad if even Achilles the Invincible Warrior knew about your love life. Er… well, nonexistent love life that is.

But there wasn't time to wipe that smirking look from his face. Percy was dying, his thread was unraveling, and there wasn't any time.

"You can not touch the thread or the water lest you should burn like your beloved," Achilles cautioned. "This is where I leave you, unfortunate favored of Aphrodite."

_Favored? HA! More like marked for death by a broken heart or Aphrodite's scapegoat! _Annabeth thought. _And he's not my beloved!!!_

Achilles disappeared.

Percy's pain became her own again and she fell back to her knees, fingers inches away from the golden thread. It was slackening, as if what it had been holding had almost been completely washed away. How was she supposed to pull him back to safety if she couldn't even touch the stupid thread?

Below the surface, Percy was doing worse. She could feel him slipping away into nothingness, forgetting who he was. But she'd be confined to the darkest pit in Hades before she let him forget who he was, who Annabeth Chase was.

_We're a packaged deal, idiot, _she thought maddeningly, reaching out for him with her thoughts. _You can't leave me again—not when I can save you._

He pulled farther and farther away, the burning waters of the Styx wiping away his whole identity like the ocean did with footprints in the sand.

_The cord, _she screamed, holding her head. It was going to explode with all of the pain. _Remember your lifeline, dummy!_

He stopped bobbing around so much in the water and she knew that she had reached him. She pulled his consciousness with her, pulling him back to one of his favorite places at Camp besides the beach.

_You are Percy Jackson, _she tried to tell him. The words didn't go through to him. He couldn't hear her thoughts anymore and he started fidgeting in the water once more, threatening to snap his line as if he were one big fish.

"Hold on Seaweed Brain!" she said clearly, shaping the image around her to something familiar, somwhere safe. "You're not getting away from me that easily."

The cord strengthened, the scene took full effect.

Annabeth had imagined the canoe lake and she was standing on the pier, looking down as Percy floated eerily below the surface. He'd just fallen out of the canoe, that was all. He wasn't burning or dying, but floating, safely in the water. All he needed was a hand up to get back up onto the pier. She held out her hand, restraining a laugh.

"You're such an idiot sometimes." The smile got bigger. "Come on. Take my hand."

He stared, uncomprehendingly at her, his eyes fogged and out of focus. She stared back at him, still smiling. _Take my hand_.

Recognition flashed in his eyes and his hand shot out of the water. He took her hand and everything around them disappeared.

Annabeth was lying on the ground in the van—twelve other demigods looking at her with alarm and concern—, feeling winded and holding her stomach. Large fat tears rolled out of her eyes and down her cheeks and she could hear the alarmed whisperings going around her. Argus's eye on his shoulder blinked at her.

"Annabeth!" Malcolm said, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Annabeth, what is it? Are you alright?"

_Percy was in trouble, _her mind told her, locking away the memory of what had just happened so that she couldn't analyze it. Every thought of what had just transpired was wiped from her mind until she remembered nothing, not even the pain. _And now, it is done._

In her pocket her phone rang, startling the other campers in the van, staring down at the proud daughter of Athena who had only moments before been screaming bloody murder. They flinched away from the phone as if it was a deadly enemy and Annabeth picked it up hurriedly.

"Hello?"

The voice she heard on the other line made her stomach flip.

"Hey. You get my message?" He sounded tired.

"Percy, where have you been? Your message said almost nothing! We've been worried sick!"

"I'll fill you in later. Where are you?"

"We're on our way like you asked, almost to the Queens-Midtown Tunnel. But, Percy, what are you planning? We've left the camp virtually undefended and there's no way the gods—"

"Trust me. I'll see you there."

The line went dead.

"Annabeth?" Malcolm asked again, looking worried. "What's going on? Why did you collapse? Is everything okay?"

Annabeth made a face. Truth be told, she didn't know why she had collapsed. She didn't even remember what had happened. Just a lot of black…

"I'm not sure," she admitted. "Probably just a very vivid dream that I can't remember." No one looked convinced but she pushed on. "The plan is still a go. Hit it Argus, we got to pick up the pace."

The other campers nodded, afraid to go against her. She sighed and turned to look out the window at the speeding scenery. The war was coming.

* * *

**A/n: **Now, before you guys get all jumpy on me and start saying, "There's no way that Annabeth was there with Percy!" let me explain. Now, obviously Annabeth wasn't there, but I thought that Annabeth deserved a little say in the scene too. Hence, Annabeth was there in 'spirit', but forgot everything afterwards.

Haha. It makes no sense to me, and I really don't like this chapter, but I couldn't help but write _something _for this after finishing _The Last Olympian_. Leave me a review and let me know what you think! Thanks all!

-UndeniablyMe ;)


	6. Unwell

**Music of the Gods**

Stories by UndeniablyMe

**A/n: **Went and saw the _Percy Jackson _movie and got back into the 'groove', if you will, of Percy Jackson stories. Loved the movie, even if it was way different from the book, but still love the books more. And so, in honor of the awesome books that Rick Riordan created for us, here's this little angst fest for ya'll.

More chat at the bottom. For now, enjoy!

UndeniablyMe ;)

* * *

_**Unwell- Matchbox Twenty**_

_"I'm sorry Pollux."_

_"He'll rest in peace."_

_"He was a worthy hero."_

_"I'm so sorry."_

Pollux nodded as the people walked by him but said nothing, eyes firmly fixed on the burning flames, replaying the anguish he felt when he had learned that his brother had fallen over and over in his mind and wondering how he could have prevented it. If he had moved faster, would he have been able to push his brother out of the way? If he had been a good fighter… would his brother still be alive? If he had stayed at Pollux's side, would he still be alive? The ifs were going to drive him mad.

_"Pollux, he won't feel any pain anymore."_

_"He died a hero's death."_

_"There's no other way he'd rather go."_

To Hades with all of their words of intended comfort, they did nothing for him. It didn't matter how many people told him I'm sorry. It wouldn't bring back his brother. It couldn't bring him back. As if they _knew _what it was like to lose someone who was more than a friend, more than a brother. As if they _knew _how it was to wake up, alone, in your cabin with no one else there. His brother hadn't died; the better part of himself had.

And nobody—_not one _of those idiots back at the camp—knew what it was like to lose a piece of your soul. Pollux was more than just Castor's brother. He was a part of him.

He held his head in his hands, kneeling down next to a stump of a tree that had been burned in the battle. Was it by this tree that his brother had fallen? He didn't know anymore. The pain had been too much to deal with and he'd passed out. Why had he woken up when his brother had not? Why hadn't his father cared enough to intervene? What was the purpose of being an all powerful god of Olympus if he couldn't even protect his son?

The sobs ripped through him. Memories of going to school with Castor, before they'd discovered the camp, assaulted him. No one had wanted to be friends with them because they were different, dangerous. Castor had been his only friend. Castor was the only one who talked to him. No one even remembered who he was without his twin by his side.

And now he was gone.

_"It will be alright. The pain will go away with time."_

_"Don't cry, Pollux, you're going to be okay."_

_"Pollux… it'll be okay…"_

"Pollux."

The sound of someone's voice brought him back to reality, beyond the dark waters he'd been drowning in.

He looked up and wiped his cheeks quickly, ashamed to be found crying and saw a girl from the Athena cabin. She was the constant companion to Percy Jackson—the reigning hero of Camp Half-Blood. Her face and arms had scratches down them and her hair looked slightly singed but she was still as commanding and intimidating with her stormy gray eyes that traveled over him sadly. She was exactly how he imagined the goddess of wisdom would look; the splitting image. But he didn't want wisdom. H wanted his brother. Was there a god or goddess of do-overs that he could talk to get his brother back?

"Pollux?" Her voice sounded again and it was like a slap to his face, bringing him back one more.

He paused for a moment. Pollux. Yes, that was his name, wasn't it?

"Hullo…" What was her name? Athena? Annabell? No. "Annabeth."

He couldn't force much emotion into his words and the girl sighed, sitting down beside him. He couldn't bear to look at her for a long while. If she had words of wisdom to impart to him she'd just have to hit the road. He didn't want philosophy to comfort him or empty promises. He wanted it to all be over.

Was it too much to ask that he would be struck dead too?

The daughter of Athena and the son of Dionysus sat in silence for a long while and for once, Pollux didn't feel like snapping and telling her to go away. Her presence was soothing but exactly why he wasn't sure. So long as she didn't bother him with hollow words of comfort he wouldn't mind. He didn't need her phony bits of wisdom.

But, as he knew, her silence didn't last forever. She breathed in, and out, and then she spoke.

"I know you don't want to hear it Pollux, but I am sorry." Pollux looked over to the daughter of Athena who was staring up at the stars, no emotion prevalent on her features. "It's hard when one of our number passes on to another place where we can't follow. It hurts deep inside, where no matter how good the healer, none can ever truly make better."

He was silent, taking in what she was saying, before shivering. It was wisdom, what she was giving to him. She turned the full force of her wisdom burning eyes on him and he felt frozen as she fixed him with her gaze, never blinking or looking away.

"I'm sorry for your loss."

There was a pause. So, she was just like everyone else. She wanted to lecture him, to tell him that it would be alright.

"Sorry won't bring him back," he spat at her, turning away. "Telling me you're sorry doesn't do anything for me."

And, all of a sudden, he was beyond angry. He leapt to his feet and turned on her, his hands balling into fists. Her best friend, Percy Jackson, was being celebrated as a hero. He had come back to her, after two weeks of supposedly being dead. She didn't, _couldn't, _know the pain that was a cyclone inside of him, erasing all of him all at once.

No one did. Anger blinded him.

"All of you are the same!" he roared, picking up a huge rock and throwing it as far as he could. It shattered against a bigger boulder. Is that how his brother had shattered—had fallen? "You act like you know, act like you care. You don't know what's inside!! You don't _know _how I feel! He's _gone. _He's not coming back! I'm alone and there's no one anywhere on this whole stupid _earth _that can understand how I feel! My. Brother. _Is. Gone. _Don't give me your wisdom and don't give me your pity! It won't bring him back. He's _GONE!!!_"

He stared at her, chest heaving, and she stared right back. Her eyes were like thunder clouds, threatening lightning, and he stared back. So be it. What could she do? What powers did she have? Wisdom? Pwah. He could strangle her with vines in a moment. If she made the wrong move he'd do it. He'd… he'd…

"I've had losses too, you know," she answered in a remarkably controlled voice. "And it's hurt just as much as yours."

"What would you know?" he snapped back. His fingers flexed and he could feel the vines, the life force in the earth, itching to grow. "Everyone you've ever lost has come back to you."

Her eyes flashed dangerously and he winced but did nothing to take back his words. Her hand found its way to the knife on her belt and he knew, without having to be told, that if he made a move to hurt her that knife could be lodged in his body before anything else could happen. He'd see Castor again…

_"No brother. There's another way."_

And then, her eyes softened. She let go of the knife and she sighed.

"No, not everyone." She let the statement hang in the air before turning away. "And saying I'm sorry isn't suppose to make your brother come back Pollux. It's meant to tell you that this, in your time of loss, you are not alone. The Camp was behind me in my losses to support me, and we'll be there for you. All you have to do is reach out."

And with that she walked back up the path, meeting halfway with a concerned looking Percy Jackson. Jackson seemed to ask her a question and she brushed him off easily. His hand touched her shoulder for a second in a comforting gesture and then they moved on. Both fell into step with one another and made their way up to the camp. Pollux watched them go and his heart ached.

But what that girl had said made some kind of sense, even if he didn't want it to. He wasn't alone. He never would be. In losing Castor he had thought he'd lost a part of himself too. And, in a way, he had. But there were still things to be done.

So wisdom had found its way into his heart after all.

_"Pollux. It will be okay. You have to let me go."_

He curled his fingers in and felt the life force of the earth. He drew upon it, pulled softly and tenderly, the little shoots of vines that lay beneath. They curled out of the earth and burst forth with fruit. The smell reminded him of days spent, lazily, with Castor and contests on who could make the sweetest grapes.

_"Let me go, Pollux. Let me go."_

He clenched his fist. The vines choked and died and the withered fruit fell to the earth. A single tear found its way down his face and onto the ground, in the dry dirt. Wisdom said, no matter how many times he killed that vine, with a little bit of care and help it would always come back to bear forth fruit. _It will be okay._

"Wait for me brother," Pollux answered softly. More tears came. His trials weren't over yet. He still had a ways to go. "I'm going to move forward, but I'll _never_ forget you."

He touched the life force again, the place from where he drew his power, and for a moment it was almost as if Castor was there, pulling with him.

"_I'm waiting, Pollux. _I'm waiting."

* * *

**A/n: **Wow. Now that was _thoroughly _depressing. But a little hopeful at the end, no? This one-shot is long overdue and is in response to **_Avalonfreak_ **who mentioned in one of her first reviews that she'd like to see something like this. **_Avalon_, **I seriously have written down pretty much _all _of your ideas and have them lined up to do more one-shots. Thanks for all the support and great reviews! Oh, and **_believeinthegods_**. I went back and reread both of your people's reviews and it made me smile.

And, for any of you who have ideas of characters you'd like to see, drop me a review and let me know!! I promise the next update _will _come faster than this one. Until then, demi-gods ;)

UndeniablyMe ;)

**EDIT: **I feel like such an idiot. I switched the names around the first time I posted, so here it is fixed. That's what I get for posting late at night I suppose... :)


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